Dr. Özgün Emre Can

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Assistant Professor, Ankara University, Turkey
Instructor, Center for Wildlife Studies

IUCN SSC Task Force on Human-Wildlife Conflict & SSC Bear Specialist Group

Oxford Conservation Initiative, Founding Director

Ph.D. Wildlife Ecology, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

Email: ozgunemrecan@gmail.com

Can Lab Website

Emre is an internationally known expert in human-wildlife conflict management. He has more than 20 years of experience in designing and implementing studies to address real-world conservation issues, and creating science-based practical solutions to the problems faced by carnivores especially gray wolves, brown bears, and leopards. To effect positive change for people and carnivores, he tries to merge the disciplines of wildlife conservation, human-wildlife conflict management, psychology, anthropology, and cognitive neuroscience.

Emre worked as a research scientist at Oxford University between 2011 and 2019. Prior to joining Oxford, he was a research fellow at CIHEAM, France and MAICh, Greece; worked for WWF Turkey and Birdlife Turkey; undertook research with USGS Minnesota Wolf Project, IUCN, WWF (US, Netherlands, Turkey, and Georgia offices), and UNDP. The geographical span of his work includes Georgia, Nepal, Romania, Turkey, United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Philippines, and Togo.

Emre’s accomplishments include the discovery of clouded leopards in Langtang Himalayas in Nepal (2019), discovery of the Caucasian leopards (2009), rediscovery of striped hyaenas in Turkey (2001), and promoting further research and conservation initiatives about those species. He contributed to cross-boundary nature protection efforts in the Caucasus Ecoregion (covering Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Iran, and Russia).

His current research focuses on the ecology of clouded leopards and leopards in the Himalayas, human-wolf interactions in Central Asian societies, and fostering transdisciplinary mindsets in conflict management and carnivore conservation. He is a member of the IUCN Wolf, Bear, Canid, Hyaena, and Deer Specialist Groups, and the IUCN SSC/WCPA Protected Areas and Biodiversity Task Force. He is currently an independent international consultant on human-wildlife conflict management and strategic conservation planning. 

    • Transdisciplinary Human-Wildlife Conflict Management: Ideas to Action

    • Can, Ö. E., Yadav, B. P., Johnson, P. J., Ross, J., D’Cruze, N., Macdonald, D. W. Factors affecting the occurrence and activity of clouded leopards, common leopards and leopard cats in the Himalayas. Biodiversity and Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-019-01912-7

    • Macdonald, D. W., Bothwell, H. M., Kaszta, Ż., Ash, E., Bolongon, G.,Burnham, D., Can, Ö. E., Campos-Arceiz, A., Channa, P., Clements, G. R., Hearn, A. J., Hedges, L., Htun, S., Kamler, J. F., Kawanishi, K., Macdonald, E. A., Mohamad, S. W., Moore, J., Naing, H., Onuma, M., Penjor, U., Rasphone, A., Rayan, D. M., Ross, J., Singh, P., Tan, C. K. W., Wadey, J., Yadav, B. P., Cushman, S. A. 2019. Multi-scale habitat modelling identifies spatial conservation priorities for mainland clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa). Diversity and Distributions, 00:1-16. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12967

    • Can, Ö. E., D’Cruze, N., Macdonald, D. W. 2019. Dealing in deadly pathogens: Taking stock of the legal trade in live wildlife and potential risks to human health. Global Ecology and Conservation. Volume 17. e00515. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2018.e00515

    • Can, Ö. E., Macdonald, D. W. 2018. Looking under the bonnet of conservation conflicts: can neuroscience help? Biodiversity and Conservation. 27:2087. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-018-1514-1

    • Can, Ö. E., D’Cruze, N., Balaskas, M., Macdonald, D. W. 2017. Scientific crowdsourcing in wildlife research and conservation: Tigers (Panthera tigris) as a case study. PLOS Biology. 15(3): e2001001. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2001001

    • Can, Ö. E., Macdonald, D. W. 2017. To protect everything, please click here: does a revolution in data collection guarantee one in conservation? Animal Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1111/acv.12285

    • Can, Ö. E., D’Cruze, N., Garshelis, D. L., Beecham, J., Macdonald, D. W. 2014. Resolving human-bear conflict: a global survey of countries, experts, and key factors. Conservation Letters. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12117 

    • Can, Ö. E., Kandemir, I., Togan, I. 2011. The wildcat (Felis silvestris) in northern Turkey: assessment of status using camera trapping. Oryx 45:112-118. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605310001328

    • Can, Ö. E., Togan, I. 2009. Camera trapping of large mammals in Yenice Forest, Turkey: local information versus camera traps. Oryx 43:427-430. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605308000628

    • Pullin, A. S., Baldi, A., Can, Ö. E., Dieterich, M., Kati, V., Livoreil, B., Lovei, G., Mihok, B., Nevin, O., Selva, N., Sousa-Pinto, I. 2009. Conservation Focus on Europe: Major Conservation Policy Issues That Need to Be Informed by Conservation Science. Conservation Biology 23:818-824. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01283.x

    See a full list of his publications on Google Scholar